7th Heaven
The 7th Heaven is a bar and restaurant owned and run by Tifa Lockhart in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, located in the Midgar slums' Sector 7. It has served as a home base for many of the games' main characters, specifically in Final Fantasy VII. A new 7th Heaven was later built in the city of Edge after the fall of Meteor. Story Located in the slums of Sector 7 in Midgar, the original 7th Heaven bar was built by an unnamed carpenter during the events of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, and named "7th Heaven" by Zack Fair during a conversation. Intended to house an anti-Shinra base from the start; in Final Fantasy VII it serves as the base of operations for the AVALANCHE terrorist organization. By using a secret elevator disguised as a pinball machine, AVALANCHE members can reach the secret headquarters below the bar's main floor. To most of the organization's members, the bar is also their only known home. The familial ties in the business are at such an extent that, when Tifa once joins Cloud Strife and Barret Wallace on an AVALANCHE mission, the bar is left in the trusted care of Marlene Wallace, Barret's four-year-old adoptive daughter. The bar is destroyed when President Shinra orders the destruction of the Sector 7 pillar, dropping the plate upon the slums and crushing the entire area. Marlene was not in the bar at the time, having been saved by Aeris Gainsborough, another citizen of the slums, before the plate fell. Layout Overview 7th Heaven is a Texan-style bar and restaurant, and is a large, wooden building located in the western end of the Sector 7 slums. It stands in contrast to the surrounding buildings in Sector 7's slums, which are made primarily of metal plates. The main floor of 7th Heaven is the bar and restaurant, while a secret elevator near the pinball machine leads down to the basement where AVALANCHE's headquarters are located. 7th Heaven serves food and drink, cooked and prepared by Tifa. It appears to serve alcoholic beverages and soda, as soda bottles and a beer glass can be seen on one of the tables, as well as a neon sign reading "Draft beer". Though the food served is unknown, Tifa's cooking was praised by Wedge, who stated that its food and drinks made 7th Heaven famous. Text on a sign outside the bar and on the doormat appears to read "Tyfer Bar". "Tyfer" is likely a transliteration of Tifa's Japanese name into English by a graphic artist unaware or prior to the official transliteration. "Texas" can also be found written on the sign at the top of the bar and on a neon sign within. Bar and Restaurant The bar and restaurant area is the main floor where customers are served food and drinks. The bar is designed primarily with wooden tables, benches, and stools. At the back is a bar containing several drinks, and a small kitchen area off to the side. A jukebox and pinball machine occupy one corner, while a large television screen is located on the wall behind the bar. Neon-lit signs read "Texas" and "Draft beer". Secret Basement Accessed via a secret elevator near the pinball machine, this basement serves as headquarters for Barret Wallace's AVALANCHE faction. This is a small concrete room, which houses mapping and communication facilities, a computer hub, a television screen, and training equipment. At the center is a large table, where plans are written on paper, as well as on the whiteboard nearby. Gameplay Date mechanics The game has a hidden affection value that determines whom Cloud will go on a date with in Gold Saucer later. The value is determined by the dialogue and party member choices made prior to the date. If Cloud has a flower (bought from Aeris in Sector 8 after the bombing mission): * "Give it to Tifa" (+5 Tifa) * "Give it to Marlene" (+5 Barret) If Cloud talks to Tifa while she's behind the bar: * "I don't feel like it" (No change) * "Give me something hard" (+5 Tifa) When Tifa accuses Cloud of leaving her, his childhood friend: * "How can you say that!" (+5 Tifa) * "...Sorry" (No change) Tifa asks Cloud how he slept the next morning: * "Next to you, who wouldn't?" (+5 Tifa) * "Barret's snoring kept me up..." (+5 Barret) Creation and development It appears the early designs for 7th Heaven were later used for a generic pub in Junon. The "Making Of" bonus disc included with Final Fantasy VII International includes a pre-release shot of the Junon pub where Cloud is using lines he says in the 7th Heaven in the final game. The Junon pub also appeared in a GameFan article written nine months before the release of Final Fantasy VII, which suggests it was originally planned to be a more important location than it ended up being in the final game. Comparing the layout of the Junon pub to the Beginner's Hall in Junon suggests that the underground level of the Beginner's Hall may have been the original AVALANCHE hideout, situated below the 7th Heaven bar. Pre-release shots of the area also reveal what changes were made to the 7th Heaven bar during development. The pinball machine was part of the background in the early version of the area, but was likely turned into a 3D object for simplicity's sake. Different graphics for the TV screens in 7th Heaven also have been spotted in pre-release images; while in the final game the TV reader looks like a cartoon character, in the early versions the newsreader appears as a real photo of a person. The TV behind the bar is never used in the final game, but dummied dialogue files suggest that a conversation between Tifa and Cloud while watching the news was once planned for the game. Musical themes Before setting out to destroy the Sector 5 Reactor, the background music to the 7th Heaven is "Tifa's Theme" . After Cloud decides to take up one more job and destroy the Sector 5 Reactor, "Barret's Theme" replaces Tifa's as the 7th Heaven's theme. Other appearances ''Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade Gallery 7th Heaven.jpg|Background in the original game. Seventh Heaven FFVII Early Sketch.jpg|Early sketch for 7th Heaven. Seventh Heaven Hideout FFVII Early Design.jpg|Early sketch for 7th Heaven hideout. Pinball7thHeaven-ffvii-field.png|Field model of the bar's pinball machine in ''Final Fantasy VII. 7h-heaven-prerelease.jpg|Early version of the bar with the pinball machine part of the background and a different TV screen. 7th-heaven-basement-prerelease.jpg|Early version of the basement with a different TV screen. Darts Minigame in 7th Heaven from FFVII Remake.jpg|Darts minigame from Final Fantasy VII Remake. Etymology The number 7 in Biblical references symbolically represents perfect completion. The number also has a significance in Quranic numerology. The number seven occurs numerous times in Final Fantasy VII as an allusion; e.g. AVALANCHE is based on Sector 7, Shinra Headquarters has 70 floors, there is a status called All Lucky 7s; the bar 7th Heaven follows with the other allusions to the number. Trivia *In Final Fantasy VII Remake, the picture above the door is of the original 7th Heaven from the PlayStation version. * There have been several (untrue) rumors that the ruins of the original Seventh Heaven are accessible in Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-. * In Final Fantasy VII, the sign at the top of the bar in Midgar reads TEXAS COWBOY CLUB. The neon sign on the 7th Heaven reads TYFER BAR. Inside the bar the welcome mat also reads TYFER BAR and there are neon signs on the walls saying TEXAS and DRAFT BEER. ** Notably, there is no "Texas" in the world of Final Fantasy VII, but "Lockhart" is the name of a city in the real life state of Texas, United States. Tifa was also dressed as a cowgirl in the flashback to Nibelheim, and cowgirls are often associated with Texas. * Tifa can use an attack called Seventh Heaven in the fighting game Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring. * Tifa's most powerful exclusive weapon, "Seventh Heaven", in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, is named after the bar. * Zack's slogan for the bar in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-'' was "Seventh Heaven! A slice of heaven in Sector 7!". * If Cloud bought a flower from Aeris after the attack on Sector 1 Reactor he can give it to either Tifa or Marlene at the bar. This affects date mechanics. * In ''Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, there is a bar called "The Seventh Heaven" in the Revenant's Toll area of Mor Dhona. de:7. Himmel (FFVII) es:Séptimo Cielo (Final Fantasy VII) Category:Locations in Final Fantasy VII Category:Organizations in Final Fantasy VII Category:Organizations in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-